Please join us at 3pm on January 21 for an artist talk with Nils Hint in support of his exhibition, Nowhere, In the Gallery at Brooklyn Metal Works.
Hint’s most recent jewelry pieces embody the iron work that he is known for in their sculptural and functional aspects. Working with found objects that performed utilitarian service as tools and cutlery, Hint repurposes these items into new wearable formats. His latest focus in Nowhere is on the kinetic relationship between static material and human force. The malleability of iron is evidenced in the gestural qualities present in these bold new pieces. Hint’s mastery elevates these once humble objects and pays homage to a noble material worthy of wearing and preserving as jewelry.
On Nowhere :
Somewhere in my latest work I started focusing on the kinetic relationship between material and human. A moving man staring at the static lump of matter. Although, this intrigue is nothing new to me. I guess It has always been present in my work in a way that I am not aware of.
It started when I was around 5 years old. I remember sitting on the huge stack of brick stones and beating some aluminum wire to be flat with the half broken stone from the same pile. I did several shapes what I lost later. What remained was the satisfaction from being able to manipulate this material so easy. Now, when I am more consciously tracking the origins of my actions I see that they all start in the middle of nowhere. The remote place I spent most of my childhood.
Nils Hint is an artist, experimental blacksmith, and art jeweler who lives and works in Tallinn, Estonia. His work is exhibited internationally with noteable inclusion in “Schmuck 2015” Munich, Germany; and “CULT”, Stedelijk Museum’s-Hertogenbosch, Amsterdam, Netherlands. A select list of gallery exhibitions include ATTA Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand; Gallery RA, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Gallery Four, Gothenburg, Sweden; and the Ruthin Craft Center, Ruthin, United Kingdom. His work is in the collection of the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design; Art St. Urban Art Center, St. Urban, Switzerland; Gallery of Art in Legnica, Poland, International Collection of Contemporary Jewellery; as well as private collections. Hint has won grants, prizes, and residencies for his outstanding work and has taught workshops internationally at Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry, Tokyo, Japan; Rhode Island School of Design; and HDK Steneby, Sweden. In addition to his studio practice, Hint is currently an Associate Professor of Blacksmithing in the Jewellery and Blacksmithing department at the Estonian Academy of Arts.